Cheap Sunglasses
by SincerelyRainbow
Summary: A collection of one-shots. Cheap Sunglasses, Sleep and Human. A collection of weaknesses and co-dependency because they were incredibly intelligent, but still only human. Rated K .
1. Cheap Sunglasses

Author's Notes/ I decided I wanted to do a collection of one shots. These will follow the Whammy Boys and their relationships (for better or for worst) in a series of one shot stories. I quite like this first one.

Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note or any of the characters within the series.

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He didn't talk much, that new boy. He mostly sat in the corner of the play room and watched people. Only the children didn't know they were being watched, for that new boy's eyes were concealed behind a pair of orange rimmed, cheap sunglasses with lenses as black as night. The glasses were given to him by Miss Luis. She had been a nice lady, one of the nicer case workers. She had also been the one that brought the eight year old to the orphanage, after discovering that he had to be at least three grade levels ahead of what he should have been. He was a traumatized orphan who was too smart for a typical orphanage, so he was sent to Whammy.

Of course, Roger had taken him in. He was far too smart not to be taken in. With his smarts, he could have easily climbed the ranking to becoming L's successor, if only he would come out of that corner.

"Mello, you go talk to the new boy," demanded Roger, giving the nine year old blond a nudge towards the new boy in the corner, "His name is Matt. Make him feel welcomed, got it?"  
Irritated, the blond folded his arms across his chest and stared up at Roger for a moment before replying with a, "Do I have to?"

"Yes, you do or no desserts for a week."

Mello kicked his foot in a pouting manner and made his way towards the boy. He leaned against the wall, propping one foot on it and once more folding his arms across his chest. His icy blue eyes fell on the boy, who had yet to notice his presence.

"Hey kid. What's with the sunglasses?" questioned the blond, sinking down into a sitting position, "They look stupid, you know?"

The auburn haired male turned his head to look Mello for a moment. His own emerald eyes were perfectly concealed behind the jet black lenses of the glasses. He said nothing as he stared down the blond and looked back across the playroom, staring at nothing in particular.  
Mello hated being ignored. He grabbed the boy by the collar of his shirt and stood up, pulling the smaller boy up with him. In one swift motion, he yanked the sunglasses off of Matt's face and threw them to the ground. Matt's emerald eyes closed immediately as he tried to pull away from the blond, more afraid of being seen than being struck by the male.

"Don't ignore me, Matt, you got that?" Mello spat. He released his grip from the fabric of Matt's shirt and watched as the boy fell to the ground. Matt fumbled for his sunglasses.

As he slid them back over his face, he looked up nervously at Mello. "M-my name's not M-Matt. It's M-Mai--"

He wasn't allowed to finish his statement before Mello jumped in, "No. It's Matt now. That's how things work around here. You stick with whatever name they give you, got it? And what's with those sunglasses?"

Matt brought his knees back up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them, staring at the striped fabric of his sweater. "T-They keep me from b-being seen. I-If I can't be s-seen, t-then my dad can't g-get me a-anymore."

After that, the pair didn't speak any more of the matter. After all, they were just children. Things of that nature, abuse and such, weren't something that young children preferred to talk about. It wasn't until a week later that the matter was brought up again.

"Here," stated Mello, standing in front of Matt with a pair of goggles.

Nervously, Matt took them from Mello and examined them carefully, his eyes still hidden by the original pair of cheap sunglasses. His glance fell upon the blond who seemed to be awaiting an answer of some sort.

"What are these for?"

Mello shrugged his shoulders and replied, "I just thought those sunglasses looked stupid. These are much better. The strap will keep them from falling off, and you won't be seen."

It was all the answer Matt needed, and with that Matt slid off the orange rimmed sunglasses and slid his new goggles over his face . The lenses were a bit big for his face, and the strap had to be adjusted to keep them from falling off. But overall they served their purpose, and Matt felt content with them.

"You want to go play outside?" questioned the blond.

Matt nodded in reply, and the two made their way outside, leaving the pair of orange rimmed sunglasses in the window sill. Neither one of them knew it then, but that day was the beginning of a beautiful, yet twisted, friendship.


	2. Sleep

AUTHOR NOTES: So here it is 2 AM. I was trying to sleep, but inspiration struck me. And with that inspiration, I just had to get the laptop out and get this down. I'm quite fond of this one. It shows Near as something other than completely apathetic. It also shows that Matt isn't Mello's lap dog, as he has a friendship with Near. That's all this one is. A friendship, although if you ship that pairing (I don't on a romantic level), you could see it either way. And Matt has one of those slide-on game lights. I'm so used to my DS, I forgot what GBCs were like. XD

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Death Note. A My brain would have exploded trying to write it. XD

Without further ado, I give you the second one-shot to the series. Enjoy, and leave me some reviews please.

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The Whammy House had gone silent and dark. All the children had been silenced and put to sleep, while all the lights had been extinguished. It was bed time at the orphanage, for tomorrow held more testing. And more testing meant that each orphan needed to get plenty of sleep. Of course, not every orphan was sleeping.

One orphan in particular who was not sleeping was the troublemaker known as Matt. The auburn haired boy was sitting up on his bed, the blanket tossed completely over him, playing an old Game Boy Color. The sound of crashing buttons and the faint sound of the game's music (Pokemon music to be exact) filled the room. The small light from Matt's Game Boy's add-on could barely be seen from the midst of the blanket. It was well past his bed time. Two or three in the morning by now, he had figured, only he couldn't quite sleep. He had vowed to beat the game before he went to sleep. It was too far into the game to go to sleep now. Mentally doing the math, the boy assumed he had been playing for approximately twelve hours and twenty three minutes. A quick glance at his wrist watch confirmed his assumptions.

As far as he knew, he was the only one awake. That was until he heard the sounds of struggling and blankets rustling coming from the other side of the bed room. Curiously, Matt peered his head out from under the blanket, briefly shining his Game Boy's light in the direction of the sounds, although the light was barely strong enough to shine to the other side of the room.

On the other side of the room, a small boy with white hair and white pajamas had shot up, looking around the room as though something was going to appear from the darkest corner of the room and attack him. It was Near just waking up from what appeared to be a very violent nightmare. The small boy was panting and shaking from the terror. The brief glimpse of him that Matt could see from the light was enough to tell him that the younger male was in distress. Pushing the blanket off his body, Matt rose from his own bed and made his way across the room, using his paused Game Boy as a flash light. He shined the light down on Near, and for the first time, he caught a glimpse of the true terror that filled the smaller orphan's coal colored eyes.

Near stared up at him for a moment, terrified at first, trying his hardest to figure out if he was awake or asleep. Matt looked back, unsure of what to do. He had his own share of nightmares, but he had never been on the other end of one. He ran his fingers through his hair and tried to remember what Mello had done when he had been awakened by one Matt's own nightmares.

"Near, it's Matt," the boy finally said, trying his best to act how Mello had the first time he had helped Matt with a nightmare, "Are you okay?"

Near continued to stare at him with those terrified eyes until he finally replied with, "It was just a bad dream." His voice, usually full of apathy, shook as he spoke. The white haired male brought his knees towards his chest and hugged them as if he were trying to curl into himself and escape the world.

Matt was unsure of what he was to do. He could leave Near there. Let the boy go back to sleep on his own. That's what Mello would have done, but Matt wasn't like Mello. Mello rarely had nightmares. Matt had more than his fair share of them, and he knew firsthand what Near was going through. With that in mind, he sat on the edge of the bed and pulled Near close, hugging the boy tightly.

"It was just a dream," he stated, setting the Game Boy on the bed with his free hand, allowing it to illuminate the bed, before wrapping that arm back around the smaller boy. For the first time, he felt Near shaking. It was an unnerving concept in itself, to see Near, the one who never seemed phased by anything, so paranoid and so broken. What unnerved Matt more was just how tightly Near had clung to him, holding the older boy as though he were some form of lifeline. At that moment, Matt was afraid to move, afraid that if he did, the smaller boy would crumble before his very eyes.

"It was just a dream," he repeated.

Near managed a small nod, burying his face into the crook of Matt's neck, something Matt remembered doing to Mello so many times before. He lost himself in his own memories until Near's voice brought him back to reality. "Matt, do me a favor?"

Matt glanced down at the boy, raising an eyebrow slightly, though his expression could not be seen. "What is that?"

"Stay here until I go to sleep."

Matt nodded in reply, "One on condition."

"What's that?"

"Mello never finds out about this, got it?"

It was Near's turn to nod. And with that, the pair had their own secret. And should Near ever have another nightmare, he knew he could depend on Matt. Because even if Mello hated him, he always had a friend in Matt, and that was something that Near would secretly cherish for the rest of his life.


	3. Human

**AUTHOR NOTES:** This is the third one-shot in the series. It contains MelloxNear in an unromantic way. After all, Mello is only eight here. In the story, Near has just turned seven, and Mello is about to turn nine. Therefore, it's set somewhere between September and December. It's also like right after Mello comes to Whammy, and he hasn't been 'named' yet. I wanted to do this piece to show that Mello did have a weakness. After all, the first two stories show how Matt and Near have weak points. I figured Mello needed one too. The ending seems off to me, but meh. It's like 2:49AM. Sorry this one is coming so late. I've had writer's block and sunburn. The burn itches like crazy now. Anyway, here you go. I'm going to bed. xD

**DISCLAIMER: **Hah, like I need one. I _own_ Death Note. Did you really believe me? Yeah, I didn't think so either.

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He had been about eight years old when he arrived at Whammy's. Eight years old physically, that is, but mentally, he had been well past eight. That was what had sent Mihael Keehl to Whammy's Orphanage for Gifted Children in the beginning.

The boy sat at the foot of the bed he had been told was his. He didn't believe it was his. _His_ bed was back at what used to be _his_ home where he used to spend restless days with _his_ family. Nothing at Whammy's had he considered _his_ except for what had came with him. However, that didn't matter. Even at eight years old, he knew he'd never again see the things that he used to consider his, including his family. His family, he had been told, were gone. By gone, he had already put the pieces together and figured out it meant dead. After all, when they had found him by his mother's body after she committed suicide. It hadn't been intentional suicide. No, just a simple overdose on some sleeping medications. She had certainly needed her sleep after Mihael's father's death. The police had come after a frantic 911 call from the neighbor upstairs. Ms. Collins had apparently heard the screams of what sounded like the eight year old boy that lived beneath her. The police found a sobbing blond boy desperately trying to wake up a mother who had been long gone.

And so, a funeral later, the blond was sent to Whammy's. They had known by his marks in school that he was extremely bright for a boy of his age. His intelligence level was at least three grade levels ahead of what was considered normal for an eight year old. Normal was never a word associated with the blond for other than his intelligence level, the rest of him wasn't considered normal either. He was anti-social, a bit crude and sarcastic, and a generally cold human being, to say the least. That wasn't how he had ever viewed himself though, he was simply waiting for the right person to let his shields down for. Not that it mattered now. He had no intentions of letting anybody in now.

That's why, even though the rest of the children were making messes downstairs and having fun, he was sitting on his bed staring at a blank wall and willing tears not to fall. His legs were folded Indian-style, and his arms rested dead-like by his sides. His icy blue eyes seemed focused on a spot, only nothing was on the wall, just bare white paint. His appearance gave off that of a doll, blank and emotionless. Only if one were to gather a good look of his face would they see the pain that swam in those crystal blue eyes. Mihael could feel his throat tighten, and something stinging at the back of his eyes as his mind continued replaying the past events in his head. It couldn't be crying though. No, Mihael didn't cry. He was too strong, too cold, too out of touch with his emotions for something as childish as tears.

The blond was so lost inside his own thoughts that he hadn't heard the door pry open slowly, creaking as it did so. Through the doorway walked in a smaller, very pale boy. He walked over towards the bed that he considered his (Whammy had too many orphans for each to have their own room) and sat down quietly, bringing a knee towards his chest. Mihael made no attempt to look at the other boy who was staring at him observingly with cold black eyes and fiddling with a candy bar that had been given to him by another one of the kids.

However, staring at the back of the blond was not satisfying to the other boy's curiosity. With that in mind, he rose from his bed, an unwanted chocolate bar in hand, and walked over towards Mihael. He observed the blond carefully. The boy's went just past his ears, in a very girlish manner. His clothing was black, although that was no surprise. Many of the children arrived in black. After all, it was supposedly a color of mourning, although black suited this blond for some reason. The blond also had a thin build, the smaller of the two noted.

"I see you are my new room mate," he finally spoke to the blond.

It was then that Mihael had looked up for the first time, his eyes focusing on the other, much whiter, male. For a moment, the boy almost blended into the wall, with the exception of his skin, which wasn't much darker than the walls themselves. In reply to the other boy's question, he simply shrugged. After all, he didn't consider this boy his room mate. Back home he had his own room. He had lost the concept of _his_ when he came to this place.

"I'm Near," spoke the boy once more.

Mihael simply nodded. He had tried to will his voice to come out, at least to mutter a name and a 'leave me alone,' but nothing came. His throat was too tight for words to make their way out. Near sat down on the edge of the bed, twisting slightly to face the blond. His eyes were met with the pair of icy blues.

Near was the first to break the silence once more. "So, how'd you get here?"

The blond shook his head. He couldn't talk. The feeling in his throat was too strong. He knew if he tried to talk, he would cry, and he didn't cry. It was that simple. So he just wouldn't talk. After all, silence speaks volume, doesn't it? In this case, the silence must have said something Mihael hadn't thought of for Near scooted closer and placed a hand on his shoulder in comforting manner.

But just like that, everything shattered. It was as if Mihael had been a delicate doll that with just one touch would break apart. And that was exactly what happened. He shattered completely, reaching out and clinging to Near. He jerked the smaller boy, pulling him closer and holding as though the world was shattering. Only for him it was. Tears flowed down his cheeks in streams, soaking the fabric of Near's white pajamas. He held onto Near, not caring that he barely knew the boy, not caring if the boy minded, not caring about anything at all. Just feeling. For the first time, he was feeling, and these feelings had came too hard, too fast. He felt himself crying about everything. Things that mattered, things that didn't matter anymore, things that he didn't think mattered in the first place. Eight years of emotions pouring down his cheeks. And Near just sat there, wrapping a comforting arm around the sobbing blond. He had seen break downs before. Many of the kids had them their first few nights at the orphanage, and even at seven years old, he knew that it was best to just let them cry. And so he did.

It took a while before the blond pulled away and wiped his eyes on the back of his long, black sleeve. His eyes were red from crying, and his face was still slightly wet. He stared at the white haired boy for a moment before snatching him by his collar. He pulled him closer, their eyes meeting.

"D-don't you ever tell anybody about that, got it?"snarled the blond.

And when Near nodded, Mihael simply let go and pushed the boy away from the bed that was called his. Near walked over towards his own bed, content to forget that the event had ever happened, and Mihael found himself staring at an intentionally abandoned chocolate bar. He picked the wrapped open and nibbled away at the chocolate, finding that it made him feel slightly better. However, the fact Near had seen him cry irked him. Near now knew that the blond wasn't as cold as people believed, and this bothered Mihael. He wasn't supposed know Mihael had a vulnerable spot. Mihael made a mental note to scare the other boy some, in order to make him forget all about the incident.

That night was a lot of things. It was the beginning of Mihael's life at Whammy, Near's understanding of the blond, and a new found love of chocolate. But most of all, it was the earliest, mostly forgotten, beginning of a rivalry between two of the smartest kids that Whammy had to offer. And if ever asked, neither of the boys would recall such an event happening. Mihael had scared it out of Near, or so he would believe for a while. However through it all, both were content just to forget it happened. Mihael would continue to be the cold, heartless boy he wanted to portray himself as, and Near would never think of it again, for if Miheal liked himself, who was he to force him to be anything different? It wasn't as though any of them were normal anyway. Who was he to judge Mihael's behaviors?

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**MORE AUTHOR NOTES:I hate the ending of this. D:  
**

I have been playing DN.d: Poison here recently. So if there's some MelloxNear love in the future of this story, that'd be why. XD Anyway, read and review please. I'm out.


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